Brandon Bell, a Getty Images staff photographer, has spent the past year documenting dozens of important U.S. news stories. Bell, who is based in Houston, covered the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin and his conviction for the murder of George Floyd, migrants entering the United States at the Texas border, the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa race massacre, medical staff coping with COVID-19 outbreaks, rallies in Phoenix and Austin, Hurricane Ida, the tornadoes in Kentucky, and much more. Below, in roughly chronological order, is a look at some of the stories brought to us through Bell’s lens in 2021.
2021 Seen Through the Lens of Brandon Bell
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Nehemiah Frank (left), teaches his cousin David McIntye II about the Tulsa massacre, in front of a mural in the Greenwood district of Tulsa, Oklahoma, on May 28, 2021. May 31 of 2021 marked the 100th year since a white mob attacked Tulsa's Black Greenwood neighborhood, killing hundreds of people, destroying a vibrant business community, and leaving thousands homeless. #
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A member of the National Guard takes a picture inside the Capitol Rotunda during a U.S. Capitol tour on January 23, 2021, in Washington, D.C. Because of COVID-19, Capitol tours had been restricted since March 13, 2020, but were exclusively reopened for National Guard members. About 25,000 members of the National Guard were deployed to the city to provide security for the inauguration of President Joe Biden, following the riot and breaching of the U.S. Capitol on January 6. #
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People gather for a demonstration in the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue on April 18, 2021, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. People convened during the Black & Yellow Solidarity With Asian Lives demonstration to honor the lives of George Floyd and Daunte Wright. The rally promoted unity and solidarity among Asian and Black communities. #
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People celebrate the guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial at the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue, on April 20, 2021, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, was found guilty of all three charges in the murder of George Floyd. #
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Members of the Buffalo Soldiers motorcycle club participate in the Centennial Black Wall Street Heritage Parade, in Tulsa's Greenwood district, during commemorations of the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa race massacre on May 29, 2021, in Tulsa. #
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Members of the Black Panther Party and other armed demonstrators rally in Tulsa's Greenwood district during commemorations of the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa race massacre on May 29, 2021. #
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Malcolm Turner (left) and his brother Robert Turner listen during a prayer-wall-memorial gathering at the Vernon AME Church in Tulsa's Greenwood district on May 31, 2021. #
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A member of the U.S. National Guard addresses a migrant family seeking asylum as they arrive on U.S. soil after crossing the Rio Grande on June 19, 2021, in Roma, Texas. #
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Migrants seeking asylum walk to be processed at a border-patrol processing facility after crossing the Rio Grande into the United States on June 17, 2021 in Roma, Texas. #
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A migrant family watches the sunset as they wait to be accounted for and taken to a border-patrol processing facility after crossing the Rio Grande into the U.S. on June 21, 2021, in La Joya, Texas. #
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People celebrate the sentencing of the former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on June 25, 2021, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. People gathered in downtown Minneapolis to celebrate the sentencing but also to call for continual police reform. Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison after being convicted of murder in the death of George Floyd. #
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Families stand together during a demonstration to oppose the Senate filibuster in Phoenix, Arizona, on July 26, 2021. Community residents, activists, and families gathered for a march and rally at Kachina Park, demanding Senator Kyrsten Sinema help put an end to the filibuster. #
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The musician Willie Nelson performs during the Georgetown-to-Austin March for Democracy rally on July 31, 2021, in Austin, Texas. Activists and demonstrators rallied at the Texas State Capitol after completing a 27-mile-long march, from Georgetown to Austin, demanding federal action on voting-rights legislation. #
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The Genview Diagnosis medical assistants Crystal Leyva (left) and Keitia Perez administer COVID-19 tests to laboratory technicians at Foxconn Assembly in Houston, on August 13, 2021. #
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An emergency-room nurse tends to a patient in a hallway at Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital on August 18, 2021, in Houston. Across the city, hospitals were forced to treat hundreds of patients in hallways and corridors as their emergency rooms were being overwhelmed because of a sharp increase in Delta-variant cases. #
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People wade through floodwater on August 31, 2021, in Barataria, Louisiana, after Hurricane Ida passed through. Many shops, stores, and services were closed as power throughout New Orleans and its surrounding region was down. Ida made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane on August 29 in Louisiana and brought flooding and wind damage along the Gulf Coast. #
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Chris Shivers and his neighbors round up a cow during a rescue on September 2, 2021, in Belle Chasse, Louisiana. "All of our neighbors' cows are mixed up in this bunch so we're here rescuing them, getting them off the road and out of the water. They've been standing in the water now for several days without anything to eat or drink, so they're under a lot of stress and have seen a lot. The hurricane is a disaster, and these cows will probably never be the same," Shivers said, when asked why he and his group were herding the cows. #
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Unattended horses are seen during a lightning storm on September 2, 2021, in Belle Chasse, Louisiana. Many animals throughout Louisiana were displaced as Hurricane Ida tore through the region. #
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A woman makes a kissing gesture during the Day of the Dead River Parade on October 29, 2021, in San Antonio, Texas. People gathered in San Antonio to celebrate, commemorate, and remember departed loved ones for this year's Día de los Muertos. #
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A float is seen during the Day of the Dead River Parade in San Antonio on October 29, 2021. This year's celebration returned after in-person gatherings and festivities were canceled in 2020, because of COVID-19. #
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The Villagrana-Ocasio, Parish Moreno, and Yagar Dalton families bond after a Thanksgiving meal on November 25, 2021 in Houston. "As happy as I am to have everyone back together, we've experienced so much during the pandemic that in some ways it feels that we're almost holding back from truly being able to celebrate. This is our first time having our families come together, and although we're happy and fortunate to be able to share this time, there's this uncertainty in not knowing even what next week will look like. We're happy, but are also very aware of how quickly things can change and are stepping very lightly into the future," Carlos Villagrana said. #
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The Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke speaks during a campaign rally at Republic Square on December 4, 2021, in Austin. O’Rourke launched his campaign on November 15, when he announced that he would be running against incumbent Republican Governor Greg Abbott in 2022. #
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Debris from downed trees sits piled up near damaged grain bins in Mayfield, Kentucky, on December 15, 2021. Multiple tornadoes struck several Midwest states in the late evening on December 10, causing widespread destruction and multiple fatalities. #
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Flowers and pictures of victims are displayed on a memorial in front of the tornado-damaged Graves County courthouse on December 17, 2021, in Mayfield, Kentucky. At least 90 people were killed in the multistate tornado outbreak. #
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Robert Duggin (left), and his wife, Loretta, hang up an American flag at the storm-damaged Monette Manor nursing home on December 12, 2021, in Monette, Arkansas, following tornadoes in the region. "We had a flag up but the tornado blew it away, so I brought another one. This is to remind us that although we may feel divided by the destruction, we are still unified as a people," Loretta Duggin said, when asked about hanging the flag. #
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